


Prettier than Flowers

by yikeslikenikes



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic Fluff, Dramatic minhyuk, Established Relationship, M/M, Texting, Writer Minhyuk, but in a cute way, plant dads joohyuk, producer jooheon, temporary long distance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24864013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yikeslikenikes/pseuds/yikeslikenikes
Summary: “I really miss you though,” Minhyuk says.Jooheon looks up at the phone again.“I miss you too. But it's only a few days, yeah?”
Relationships: Lee Jooheon/Lee Minhyuk
Comments: 3
Kudos: 34





	Prettier than Flowers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [taelights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taelights/gifts).



Jooheon wakes up with his alarm and groans. He taps the stop button on his phone before he pushes himself up, rubbing at his eyes. Stepping into his slippers, he shuffles his way sleepily to the bathroom to hopefully help himself wake up a bit. 

Mornings without Minhyuk are harder that way. On the rare occasion Minhyuk goes on one of his trips and can't bring Jooheon with him, Jooheon realizes how much better he sleeps with him around. How infectious his energy is in the mornings. 

He pouts at his reflection as the mask he does in the mornings does it's magic. It hasn't even been a day yet, and he already is missing his boyfriend. 

And like clockwork, his phone lights up. 

_ I am like a sunflower without the sun to follow. A rose that is all thorns. A tide that rose to find the beach disappointing. All is lost without you.  _

Jooheon rolls his eyes and smiles as he sits down on the edge of the tub, looking down at his phone. 

_ You’re so dramatic in the mornings.  _

It takes less than a minute for Minhyuk’s reply. 

_ Alas, my morning glory prefers to bask in the moon’s light instead of tucking in at a decent time. He rebukes the ache in my bones as hyperbole while I suffer.  _

Snorting, Jooheon writes back. 

_ I miss you too.  _

Dating a popular writer meant a lot of things. It meant dates where they just sat in the same room and drank coffee because they were both on deadline. It meant days off of lazing around in their house and still sneaking in a bit of work because they couldn't help it. It also meant that, whenever Minhyuk was in the mood, he'd send Jooheon the most fantastical and over the top texts in the world just to hopefully get him to smile. 

_ Did you sleep well? The mattress at this hotel is killing me 😩 _

_ Yeah, I slept fine. Went to bed late though.  _

_ How late? _

_ … _

_ Baby 😩 _

_ Like 2. It's hard to fall asleep without you around! _

_ I can just see you now. Are you doing that mask that gets rid of bags under your eyes? _

Jooheon glances up at the mirror and back down at his phone. 

_ Definitely not.  _

_ 🤔🤔🤔 _

_ Okay, yeah, I am.  _

_ Thought so 😋 _

Jooheon laughs to himself as his timer goes off. He gets up and goes to peel his mask off, tossing it into the trash before rubbing the extra goo onto his face and neck. He only just finishes when his phone rings. 

Jooheon doesn't even look as he accepts the call and props his phone up behind the faucet. There was only ever one person that called him this early anyway. 

“Hey, babe,” Jooheon says as he opens up the case of his contacts. 

“Hey! I love you,” Minhyuk says. 

Jooheon smiles down at his camera before he puts one of his contacts in. 

“I love you too,” he says. 

“Just so you know my schedule for the day, I’m probably going to be shooting that talk show around 11. Usually that lasts like an hour? Hour and a half? Then I'll be whisked off to lunch somewhere with Kihyun, and a book signing after that. I'm hoping shooting doesn't run late so I can actually sit down to eat and not just shove an entire bagel into my mouth in the car on the way there.”

Jooheon nods along. It's a pretty typical schedule for his book tours, but Minhyuk always tells him anyway. Jooheon is even sure that if he checks his email, Kihyun would have forwarded him Minhyuk's schedule. After years of being Minhyuk's agent, he knows to include Jooheon in everything by default. Minhyuk would throw a fit otherwise. 

“I'm almost done with that song, so hopefully I'll be finishing that up today. I think Changkyun and Hoseok are coming over for lunch.”

“Ooh that's fun! Tell them I say hi!”

Jooheon grins as he picks up his phone. “I will.”

He finally gets a good look at Minhyuk now that he has his contacts in. He's already fully dressed, make up and hair done, and he seems to be sitting in the greenroom of some place. Probably the show he was going to be on. 

“You look good,” Jooheon says. 

Minhyuk smiles and jokingly waves him off, pulling on his tie a bit. Jooheon just giggles. 

“You know how it is, baby. I always look good.”

“You do.”

Minhyuk smiles wider and sinks back on his chair. “You look good too.”

“I haven't even gotten dressed,” Jooheon says. He walks through their apartment, phone held up, so Minhyuk can see even if Jooheon isn't paying attention to him. 

“So? You look cute,” Minhyuk says. Jooheon sends him a smile as he grabs their simple green watering pot from its place on the ground and walks over to the kitchen sink to fill it up. 

“Shouldn't you eat before you water the plants?” Minhyuk says. 

“Does it matter? I'm going to eat breakfast after,” Jooheon says.

“Alright. Is Changkyun going to bring you lunch today?” Minhyuk asks. 

“Hm maybe. Either him or Hoseok. I bought last time, so it's their turn.”

Minhyuk nods along as Jooheon turns the faucet off and picks up the pot. Their apartment wasn't exactly a green paradise. Not yet. But they had a whole shelf full of plants that they were pretty proud of. 

Jooheon pads over to it and flips the camera on his phone, so Minhyuk can see them. 

“Ah, good morning plants!” Minhyuk says. 

Jooheon snorts as he starts checking their soil and watering them as needed. Minhyuk keeps babbling about how they're good plants and that they're growing so strong. 

It's cute, honestly. When they brought home their first plant, a tomato plant they thought would help feed them, Minhyuk had talked to it and pet gently at its leaves as he watered it. When Jooheon asked about it, Minhyuk just shrugged and said that his mother had always talked to plants. It helped them grow, he said. 

Jooheon didn't know if that was true or not, but he definitely was not going to stop Minhyuk from doing as he wanted. 

When Jooheon finishes, he flips the camera back over, and Minhyuk grins. 

“You're growing so well too!” He says. 

Jooheon laughs as he walks back over to the sink. 

“You think?” He asks, smiling as brightly as he can. 

“Of course! Just look how cute you are!”

Jooheon feels his cheeks get a bit hot as he props the phone up on the counter as he dumps out the extra water in the sink. 

“Thank you,” he says. 

“I really miss you though,” Minhyuk says. 

Jooheon looks up at the phone again. 

“I miss you too. But it's only a few days, yeah?”

“Yeah. But still. I love you and miss you.”

Jooheon sighs and lays his head on the counter, looking at Minhyuk on the phone. 

“I love you and miss you too. So much.”

Minhyuk’s eyes are focused on him until they slip away, and he nods along and sighs. Jooheon knows what that means. 

“You gotta go?” Jooheon asks. 

“Yeah. I'll text you when I'm done?” Minhyuk says. 

“Okay. Have fun! Sell your book!”

Minhyuk smiles. “I will! Have a good breakfast! I love you!”

“Love you too!”

Minhyuk blows a kiss at him, and Jooheon smiles as he blows a kiss back, and then he hangs up. Jooheon sighs and grabs his phone, shoving it into his pocket before going to turn on the television to set the show Minhyuk is about to be on to record. 

Breakfast is good, but not as good as it is when Minhyuk makes it.

+++

_ The journey has been harsh, and our hero finds himself starved. Of food. Of affection. Of attention.  _

_ How are you deprived of attention if you were literally the guest star on a show??? _

_.....of the attention of his one true love.  _

_ Nice edit there.  _

_ You know, revising is an important part of the process.  _

_ I can tell. Are you going to have time for an actual lunch or is it a bagel-only event? _

_ We finished early! We’re getting abalone porridge for lunch 😋 _

_ That sounds amazing honestly.  _

_ What about you? How's it going with Changkyun and Hoseok? _

_ Good! We’re having fried chicken and ramyeon.  _

_ That sounds...better than porridge tbh.  _

_ Pls.  _

_ Maybe if I was having it with you… _

_ Aw, Kihyun is lovely company. _

_ Yeah sure, but I can't exactly lovingly stare at Kihyun, you know? _

_ 😂 I mean, you could? _

_ Ew, why? that's your job?? _

_ It's my job? To what? Be lovingly stared at?? _

_ Exactly 😘 _

_ Hahahaha well, thanks?? _

_ Any time, baby 😘😘😘😘 _

_ Eat well, though! Keep up the good work! Text me when you're done! _

_ I will!!! Enjoy your meal!! _

Jooheon snorts as he locks his phone and drops it on the table. 

“Minhyuk doing okay?” Changkyun asks. 

Jooheon nods as he pops a piece of chicken in his mouth. 

“That's good!” Hoseok says. 

“Yeah. He’s going to eat lunch, and then after he's going to some book signing,” Jooheon says. 

“That's fun? Does he like book signings?” Changkyun asks. 

“He does! He likes people.”

“I like people too, but signings make my hand cramp,” Changkyun says. 

“The hand cramps are worth it,” Hoseok says. He pops another piece of chicken in his mouth and happily chews on it. Jooheon laughs at his puffed up cheeks. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard Minhyuk complain about his hands cramping except when they do those signed book giveaways. He hates signing a billion things at one time. At least with signings, he gets to stop, talk to them, stuff like that,” Jooheon says. 

“That’s true,” Changkyun says. He clears his throat and serves himself a few more pieces of chicken. 

“The plants look like they’re doing well,” Hoseok says. 

Jooheon instantly perks up as he looks over at their little shelf of plants. Sometimes when he looked over their flush greens and perky leaves, it was easy to forget that they all started as tiny little buds or seeds. But whenever someone complimented them, he was proud. 

He and Minhyuk had really worked hard on them. Minhyuk had always dreamed of having a house or apartment filled with plants like his mother had when he was younger, and Jooheon had liked the idea of maybe growing their own herbs and vegetables. When they had moved in together, after they had gotten their furniture sorted out, the first thing Minhyuk had wanted was a plant. After the tomato plant, he had happily picked out a tiny little cactus, thinking it’d be an easy first succulent to go with their easy first plant. 

That cactus barely survived the first few months where they cycled between underwatering it and overwatering it, it catching some type of mold that Minhyuk spent hours on the internet searching how to fix, Jooheon tearing up as he tried to scrape off said mold, and finally a sad day when Minhyuk thought it was lost forever because he was a bad parent. 

Now, that little cactus had buds and was happily growing away on their shelf. 

And Jooheon had loved Minhyuk when they moved in together but watching him pour so much love and affection into a prickly little succulent that they almost killed made him love him just a tiny bit more. He never once gave up on it. Even when things looked dim, even when the internet told him it’d be easier to get a new plant and start all over because saving it would be really hard, he kept trying. And they saw the results. It’s been about two years, and they still had the cactus, and it was even healthy enough to bud and bloom. 

After that, they couldn’t stop buying plants. They had been through one rough time, but now they felt like they could handle any plant that came their way. 

“Did you get a new one?” Changkyun asks, pointing generally at the wall.

“Oh, yeah! We finally decided to try growing a flower, so we got a geranium! They’re supposed to be pretty easy. Just watering and feeding.”

“That's cool! What do they look like?” Hoseok asks. 

Changkyun pulls his phone out to Google geraniums, and Jooheon starts picking up their trash to sort and throw away. When he finishes, he stands in the kitchen and stares at his phone. 

_ We finished eating. They’re excited about the geraniums. I still miss you a lot.  _

He is about to lock his phone when the little dots pop up. He waits and stares at them for a bit. 

They disappear. And then:

_ I'm excited for the geraniums too. Even though there's no way they’ll be prettier than the flower named Lee Jooheon. 😘 _

Jooheon snorts and starts typing before he gets another message. 

_ I miss you too. I’ll call you soon, I promise. Don't miss me too much, alright? I'm supposed to be the pining one.  _

_ Lol, I'll try not to.  _

_ Good. Love you 💕💕 _

_ Love you too.  _

Jooheon smiles and puts his phone back in his pocket, glad he can always manage to make him feel better. 

+++

Jooheon frowns down at his phone as he waters their plants. 

“Sorry guys. Your other dad isn’t calling me like normal to give you guys your usual pep talk,” Jooheon says. He runs a light finger over one of the spines on their cactus and sighs. 

“But you are growing so well! Very green all of you.”

Jooheon glances back at his phone and is once again disappointed by the lack of notifications. 

“Although I don't know what the f--, sorry, what the heck he’s doing. Maybe he slept in? I don't know.”

Finishing up his watering, Jooheon keeps frowning at his phone until he's had enough and unlocks it to make a call. 

But he never gets there. 

_ My love! I have traveled far and wide searching for the treasure, and I think it may finally be within reach. But I need help from you.  _

Jooheon raises a brow. 

_ Treasure? What treasure? _

_ You’ll see. But are you awake enough to help? Out of bed? Dressed at least? _

_ Yes? This is new, you've never done this before. _

_ I need you to do the crucial last step.  _

_ And what is that? _

_ Open the front door.  _

Jooheon jumps up, leaving his phone on the couch as he hurries over to the door. He doesn't even check through the peephole. He just turns the doorknob and pulls the door open. 

Minhyuk is standing there with a smile on his face and a small bag in his arms. 

“There you are. My treasure,” Minhyuk says. 

Jooheon smiles and leans in to kiss him before he takes the bag from him. 

“I thought you wouldn't be back until tomorrow?” Jooheon says. 

“The book signing I had in the books today got cancelled, so I got a surprise Friday off,” Minhyuk says as he walks in. He kicks off his shoes, and Jooheon just beams at him. 

“I was worried when you didn't text me,” Jooheon says. 

“I know, but I wanted to surprise you. I got us dumplings,” Minhyuk says. 

Jooheon gasps and glances into the bag, finally noticing the container of dumplings. 

“Ooh, where are they from? The place down the street?” Jooheon says. He walks over to the table and takes them out of the bag as he talks, excited for what is decidedly going to be a better breakfast than what he had planned. 

“Yeah! I know they're your favorites. Hey.”

Jooheon turns around, and Minhyuk pulls him into his arms. Jooheon melts a bit as he wraps his arms around his neck. 

“Hey,” Jooheon whispers back. 

“I missed you,” Minhyuk says. He leans in and kisses Jooheon, and Jooheon kisses him back, melting even more. 

It had been five years, and Jooheon never got tired of his kisses. Doesn't think he ever could. 

Their relationship had started off a lot like their plants. Just a tiny little seed, an itty bitty crush, and now it was so much more. Jooheon and Minhyuk had poured so much love and affection and care into each other, into this, that it couldn't help but grow. Blossom. Maybe even give fruit. 

Minhyuk pulls away and kisses Jooheon’s nose. 

“Come on, we don't want the dumplings to get cold,” he says. 

“You know, sometimes when you're here, I miss the drama of your texts.”

“Oh darling, my lovely darling, our meal will grow cold if you delay any longer. I travelled across this country to find you this…this…”

Jooheon laughs at his stumble and kisses him again. 

“Nice try there,” he says. 

“Look, over text I have more time to find the right words,” Minhyuk says with a little laugh. 

Jooheon hums and pulls them toward the couch to sit down. They sit next to each other and eat dumplings while Minhyuk tells him all about his trip, even if Jooheon has heard a few of the stories already from their calls. 

When they finish, Jooheon is leaning against his chest, staring at the empty container on their table. 

“We should clean up,” he says. 

Minhyuk squeezes him closer. “We should.”

“You also need to give the plants their pep talk,” Jooheon says. 

“Hm, I do.” Minhyuk doesn't move though. Just kisses the top of Jooheon’s head. 

“And we’re not moving to do either.”

“Nope!”

Jooheon laughs and looks up at Minhyuk. He smiles back at him and takes Jooheon’s face in his hand. 

“I love you. I love you so much,” Minhyuk says. 

Jooheon grins. “I love you too.”

Minhyuk leans in and kisses him. And it's like the first time all over again. Jooheon kisses him back, wrapping his arms around him to hold him closer. 

It had only been a few days, and they've done this more than a few times. Minhyuk goes away to do his book tour, and Jooheon stays at home to work. They text and call all the time. They miss each other. 

And when he comes back, they can't get enough of each other. They plop down on the couch and forget about the whole world. 

As Jooheon pulls Minhyuk closer, humming against his lips, he’s glad that at least he managed to water the plants beforehand this time. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> A cute little birthday fic for the cutest person I know.   
> Happy birthday!!! I hope you enjoy this little thing I wrote for you.


End file.
